


Home

by fauxtales



Series: The Eye of the Storm [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Moving In Together, Multi, pre-KH3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25900258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauxtales/pseuds/fauxtales
Summary: Sora and Riku are finally home on Destiny Islands and back where they belong: with Kairi. The days go by quietly as they navigate being normal people and their own feelings, with the possibility of being called away again looming over their shoulders. Well, as quietly as they can with the Destiny Island trio.Set between KH2 and KH3D
Relationships: Kairi/Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: The Eye of the Storm [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952362
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	1. Like the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this fic, Riku and Sora get a few weeks before having to go away for the Mark of Mastery exam.

“I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me attention.”

Riku sighs. Sora has had his finger shoved up against Riku’s cheek for a solid ten minutes now. For a second, he thought he would manage to ignore it and be able to finish the text conversation he was having with Kairi, but Sora has managed to hold out longer than Riku expected.

“You’re impossible,” Riku says. Sora just pouts at him more, twisting his finger a bit. With a quick excuse sent to the Kairi, Riku finally closes his phone and bats Sora’s hand away. “Alright, alright! I’m done, what do you want?”

The smile that lights up Sora’s face is radiant. Riku is reminded of the sun. Of the distant light of Kingdom Hearts in the Realm of Darkness. Of all the warmth he has carried around in his chest since getting Sora back.

“Your attention! I said that!” Sora leans closer to Riku, blue eyes wide. They’re on the couch in their shared apartment, Sora sprawled across most of it while Riku had curled against the arm of it while talking to Kairi. He uncurls some now as Sora gets closer, which prompts him to just climb right into Riku’s lap. Sora has always been pretty clingy, but ever since getting back from the Realm of Darkness, he’s been even more so. “Pay attention to me!”

“I am paying attention.” Riku shifts to allow Sora to straddle his hips, his arms coming to rest around Sora’s waist. Sora’s hands find Riku’s hair and for a moment Riku just breathes, grateful to be close to Sora again. After everything that happened, after being separated for so long, it’s just nice to be together like this.

“We should cut your hair.” Sora pushes Riku’s bangs back away from his face. Riku blinks up at him, frowning.

“Why do you say that?”

“I can’t see your eyes,” Sora sighs. Riku feels his face heating up some and looks away. He let his hair grow so long specifically so people couldn’t see his eyes. Sometimes, when he catches sight of his face in the mirror, he worries he might still see gold. They’ve looked closer to teal recently, more green than blue.

“You don’t need to see my eyes,” Riku says, shifting uncomfortably. Sora frowns and lets Riku’s hair fall back into his face in favor of squishing Riku’s cheeks. “Hey-”

“I like your eyes.” Sora is very forceful in this statement and Riku doesn’t know how to react. So he just stares up at Sora and waits for him to elaborate. “They’re pretty and expressive, like the ocean. You like to think you’re so cool and stoic and good at being emotionless, but your eyes give you away.” Sora grins, squishing Riku’s cheeks more. “That’s why you had to hide them when you were trying to help me, but didn’t want me to know it was you. You knew I’d see right through you.”

For an utterly too trusting and absolutely naïve dumbass, Sora really is extremely perceptive when it comes to people sometimes. Riku glances away, a small smile tugging at his lips. Sora is right, of course. His eyes have always been the first to give him away.

“I mean, yeah. That was the whole point.” Riku shrugs, not really sure what to say. It’s not as if he can really deny it. “I don’t see why I should cut my hair still. Maybe I don’t want them to be seen.”

That has Sora back to pouting. Riku thinks that Sora pouting could convince him to jump off a cliff. “But I want to see them!” Sora whines. He leans down to press their noses together and glares. “It makes me happy to see them. Don’t you want to make me happy, Riku?”

Riku does pull back now, a slight laugh escaping. “Of course I do! You’re just so needy and want the weirdest things. I don’t know why this is what you’re clinging to now.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I just miss your face.” Sora’s hands cupping Riku’s face become gentle. His expression drops though, sadness sneaking past his perpetual cheeriness. “I didn’t get to see it for so long…”

“Right.” Riku gives Sora a small smile. He does understand that. Even though he technically watched over Sora for a year, it’s different getting to see him awake instead of in a coma. They were in the same room most of the time, yet Sora still felt miles away. “You can see me now though. I’m right here.”

“Yeah. You are.” Sora’s smile returns, softer than before. He leans in again, pressing their lips together this time. This is still new, something Riku hasn’t quite gotten used to yet. He had thought about it plenty of times before leaving the island, imagined what it would be like to kiss Sora on the beach, with the light of the sun to warm them. He had imagined it would feel something like fireworks going off, explosive and exciting. The first time was like that, certainly. And even now, there are butterflies in his stomach and he feels dizzy with happiness at getting to be close to Sora like this.

It feels nothing like fireworks though. No, kissing Sora is like the waves of the ocean on a calm day, gently tugging him out to sea and away from everything he has ever known to something new. Sora is always excited, that’s who he is as a person, and that comes through here too. Somehow though, that excitement has mellowed into something gentle and Riku wants to bask in Sora’s light forever.

Sora pulls away after a few minutes with a soft sigh. His face is red, just as Riku can guess his own is. Neither of them are used to this shift in their relationship yet.

“You’re home.” Sora smiles and Riku can’t help but smile back.

“Yeah. I’m home.” Riku leans into Sora’s touch. “...You can cut my hair. If you want.”

“I can?!” Sora perks up immediately. Riku almost regrets his words.

“Not right now!” he amends. “And only with Kairi’s supervision. I trust her with scissors more than I trust you.”

“Rude.”

“But true.”

Sora smiles anyway, pulling Riku into a hug. Riku hugs him back, breathing in the scent of saltwater that clings to Sora no matter how long he’s away from the ocean. Riku loves it. It reminds him that no matter how much they change, Sora is still Sora. He’s not going anywhere.

Riku’s phone buzzes on the couch beside him and Sora sighs. He tightens his grip on Riku, clearly not wanting him to move. “Who are you texting so much?”

“Kairi. She was checking in earlier on how we were doing.” Riku picks up his phone to glance at the notification. It’s Kairi again, a message that mostly consists of emoji hearts and boils down to her teasing Riku about Sora. “She’s on her way with dinner.”

“What? Kairi’s bringing food?” That’s enough to get Sora to detach from Riku for the moment. He pushes himself to his feet excitedly, as distractible as ever. “Why didn’t you tell me! I need to clean off the kitchen counters before she gets here!”

“Weren’t you supposed to clean those off yesterday?” Riku teases. Since coming back to the islands, they’ve had to relearn how to live like normal people. Sora never was very good at chores, but Kairi has taken it upon herself to try to remind him. Riku is almost as bad as Sora, if he’s honest with himself, but he tries not to think about it too much.

“Shut up! She’ll kill me…” Sora disappears into the kitchen and Riku just smiles.

Kairi will be here soon, and then he’ll have all of his people together. Home never could feel right without both Sora and Kairi, and Riku has been trying to convince Kairi to move in with them. The only reason she hasn’t is the actual process of moving all of her things across the island, but she practically lives with them already. Sora would love to have her around more too, Riku knows.

Home really is better when the whole family is there, after all.


	2. Like the Beach

Kairi arrives just as Sora is putting away the last of the dishes. It was a close call, especially with Riku sitting at the table and heckling him nearly the whole time. It’s like the jerk thinks he can get away with anything just because Sora said he loved him once. He’s probably right. Sora never has been good at staying mad at Riku.

“You actually cleaned the counters!” Kairi sounds pleasantly surprised and Sora beams. She is right to be surprised of course, even Sora can admit that much, and he’s not about to pass up on praise. Sora swears he can hear Riku rolling his eyes as Kairi presses a kiss to Sora’s cheek and sets takeout on the counter. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks. I try.” Sora can feel his face heating up. He’s still not used to attention like this from Kairi - or Riku, for that matter. He seems to be able to handle it from Riku better though; kisses from Kairi just get him flustered. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that kisses from Riku usually come after annoying him for a while…

“He did all of it in the last half hour,” Riku calls. Kairi giggles and Sora thinks his face might actually be about to catch fire. Riku just laughs and excuses himself to go take a shower. Sora yells after him.

“Shut up! At least I did it!” 

“As long as it gets done, I suppose.” Kairi smiles. Sora loves Kairi’s smile. It’s one of the prettiest things in the world. Riku’s is too of course, but Kairi’s is so bright and gentle. It makes him feel like a kid with a crush all over again. Sora leans over Kairi’s shoulder as she unpacks the bags of takeout, one hand hovering around her waist. He still gets nervous about touching her and Riku sometimes, as if they might vanish under his fingertips.

“Whatcha get us?”

“Sushi. We haven’t gotten it in a bit, and I know you didn’t get much while you were away.” Kairi turns her head to smile at him. Sora feels butterflies in his stomach and looks resolutely at the styrofoam boxes instead. “Figured you’d be missing it still.”

“You know I’m always down for sushi!” Sora announces enthusiastically. That might have been a bit over the top... He turns in to press a quick kiss to Kairi’s cheek, his face still decidedly warm. “Thanks, Kairi.”

“You’re very welcome.” Sora can hear the laugh in Kairi’s voice, even as he takes a step back to grab chopsticks from the drawer. He doesn’t get far however before Kairi is pulling him back toward her by his jacket. “Where do you think you’re going? Shouldn’t you give the princess a proper kiss for getting you food? I deserve a reward.”

“Oh,” Sora breathes. He doesn’t know when he got so much taller than Kairi, but as she leans back against the counter and drags him closer, it hits him just how far he has to lean down to press his lips to hers. His hands fumble to find the right placement, one landing on the counter behind Kairi while the other hovers over her hip. Kairi tastes like cherry chapstick and Sora thinks it might be his favorite flavor in the world.

Sora isn’t really sure how long Kairi keeps him there. At some point he gives up and clings to her hip, around the same time one of Kairi’s hands finds its way into his hair, he thinks. It doesn’t really matter how long it is anyway, because kissing Kairi is like coming home, warm and welcoming and familiar as the beach. Like the feeling of sand under bare feet, sometimes too hot for Sora to really handle but always nice nonetheless.

When they finally break away, Sora blinks down at Kairi in a daze. Kairi smiles gently up at him and brushes a bit of hair from his face. Kairi giggles. “You always get such a dopey smile on your face when I kiss you.”

“Do not!” Sora pouts. He knows well enough that she’s right of course; he can feel it tugging at the corners of his mouth even as he denies it. He can’t help it though. Kairi just makes him so happy, he can hardly contain the feeling in his chest. Overcome with the emotion, Sora sweeps Kairi up into a tight embrace, lifting her off the ground. “Welcome home, princess.”

Kairi laughs again and the sound is the clear ringing of bells. Sora loves it. “I’m home, hero.”

Sora sets Kairi down and helps her with the food. He actually gets the chopsticks out this time, and helps her pull out a few plates for them to dish food into. The sound of the shower down the hall shuts off as Sora and Kairi settle down at the table to wait for Riku, and Sora opens his mouth before thinking about it.

“I think you should move in with us.” Sora closes his mouth as soon as the words are past his lips. Kairi looks up from her phone, his expression mostly blank. They’ve had this conversation before, a few times. Sora and Riku are both excited by the idea, but Kairi hesitates. She claims it’s because she doesn’t want to move all of her stuff, but that’s a pretty weak excuse in Sora’s opinion, and honestly doesn’t sound much like Kairi.

“Sora…”

“I mean, you spend all your time here anyway,” Sora continues, suddenly nervous about being shot down. “It just seems like more energy for you to be going back and forth all the time! And like, if you want your own room, that’s totally fine! Riku and I end up sleeping together most nights anyway - yknow, nightmares and all - so I could just move into his room and you can have mine!”

“Sora,” Kairi says, more firm this time. Sora stops talking, waiting for Kairi to continue. She seems to have to collect herself first, taking a deep breath before she begins. “It’s not that I don’t want to live with you guys. I love you and want to be with you, you know that.” Kairi reaches out to cup Sora’s cheek in her hand, then lets it fall to squeeze Sora’s hand instead. “It’s just… I know you’re both still waiting to hear from the King about going to train. And that’s good, you should do that! I guess I’m just afraid that… What if I move in, just for you both to be pulled away again? This place is too big for just me.”

For a moment, Sora falls silent. He hadn’t thought about it that way, about the possibility of Kairi being stuck here without them. But he hadn’t thought about it because - “That’s ridiculous!” Kairi’s head jerks up, hurt playing across her expression before Sora manages to amend his statement. “No, I mean… If Riku and I go away to train, we’re not just going to leave you behind. Kairi, you’re a Keyblade wielder too! If we go to train, you’re coming with us!”

Kairi’s eyes widen. She clearly hadn’t considered that option, which strikes Sora as funny. Kairi was always so determined to follow Riku and Sora when they were ripped away from Destiny Islands, he’s surprised she had resigned herself to staying behind like that.

“...I… I guess I just thought…” Kairi seems at a loss for words. Sora smiles cheerfully at her and leans in to press a kiss to her forehead.

“We’re not leaving you again, I promise.”

“Who said anything about us leaving?” Riku asks from the doorway to the hall. He’s pulled on some sweatpants and has a towel on his head as he finishes drying his hair. Sora can’t stop himself from staring at Riku’s abs, and considering the silence from Kairi, he suspects she’s doing the same. Riku smirks. “Are you both just going to sit there gawking or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I was just telling Kairi-”

“I’ve decided to move in,” Kairi says. The finality in her voice makes Sora feel warm, and he turns back to smile at her.

“You mean it?”

“Yes.” Kairi smiles as Sora jumps up out of his chair and Riku hurries over to pull them both into a hug.

“I don’t want to be separated from my family anymore.”


	3. Like the Sky

Moving into the apartment ends up being much easier than Kairi expected.

Between Sora and Riku and their boundless energy, everything gets moved over within a couple of hours. There are a few times when Kairi thinks that it will never get done, that the amount of boxes is too much and her boys will never stop bickering - they’ve never really grown out of that, even now that they’re dating - but then the last box is set in the kitchen and Kairi lets out a breath. Sora has collapsed in front of the fridge like the drama king he is and Riku is still organizing boxes while Kairi surveys her new home.

Home.

It’s been awhile since she felt at home. For the year that Riku and Sora were missing, when she forgot them, Destiny Islands didn’t feel right. It stopped feeling like home without her closest friends, even though she didn’t know it at the time. Then she realized what was missing and it felt even less like home. That was followed by running from a kidnapper, being kidnapped and released by the same person, and running through a foreign world with no real idea of where she was. Over a year of feeling displaced from home and finally she’s found it again.

“Riku, take a break! Let’s get some ice cream.” Kairi is pulled from her thoughts by Sora whining from the floor. She laughs softly, placing her hands on her hips as she looks over to Sora.

“You’re just trying to get out of doing more work, you slacker,” Kairi teases. It’s a familiar conversation and Sora’s answering grin feels so very safe.

“Yeah, so what? We’ve been at this for hours!” Sora flops dramatically to the side, sprawling out on his - their - kitchen floor. “And it’s hot! And I want ice cream!”

Riku laughs as he steps over Sora, box in hand. He heads toward the room they’ve designated as Kairi’s, calling over his shoulder. “If you want ice cream so bad, you’re going to have to go get some yourself. We’re all out.”

“What?” Sora sits up, a look of dismay on his face. Kairi laughs again. “When did we eat the rest of it? I just bought some three days ago!”

“Movie night.” Riku’s voice drifts from down the hall. “We watched All Dogs Go To Heaven and you started crying, remember?”

“...Well, it’s a sad movie.”

Kairi shakes her head, enjoying the familiar banter between the two. She missed it so much, even when she didn’t realize it. They really were perfect for each other, in their own way. Kairi is glad she gets to be around it again.

“I’ll pay for the ice cream if you want to go get some, Sora,” Kairi offers. Sora shakes his head and pushes himself up off the floor, brushing his pants off as he goes.

“Nah, I can pay for it. I still have a bunch of munny left over from travelling.” Sora runs a hand through his hair and looks at the boxes filling their apartment. “Besides, it can be like your welcome home gift! You deserve it.”

The beaming smile Sora shoots her way has butterflies fluttering in Kairi’s stomach. She feels so warm every time Sora smiles at her like that, as if he’s the sun. She’s the one who is the Princess of Light, but sometimes she thinks that Sora is the brightest person she has ever met.

Sora catches her by the waist as he walks past, pressing a soft kiss to Kairi’s cheek. “I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t let Riku slack off on you too much.”

“I heard that!” Riku calls from the other room. Kairi smiles.

“Oh, I’m sure I can keep him in line.” Kairi tugs Sora down for a proper kiss before letting him go. Sora’s face is red as he bounces out the door, a perpetual ray of sunshine.

Kairi smiles after him for a moment before grabbing a box and following Riku into her new room. She finds him arranging boxes to the side to open up space for him to actually work. Kairi hadn’t realized how much stuff she had, but now that she sees it filling up the small space, she almost feels bad for making them move it all over here. Then again, Sora and Riku would never have let her move it all any other way.

Riku looks up as Kairi comes in. “Did you seriously let him get out of unpacking to run off and get ice cream?”

“He was hot.”

“You spoil him too much.” Riku’s voice is indulgent even as he shakes his head. Kairi sets her box on one of the piles Riku has made with a sigh.

“As if you could say no to him either.”

“I can. I just don’t like to.”

Kairi smiles knowingly. They both may tease Sora and Riku may bicker with him about some things, but neither of them could really say no to him. Sora is their shining light.

“I know,” Kairi says softly. She weaves through the boxes to make her way over to Riku, sliding up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Riku goes still. Kairi presses a kiss to his shoulder, skin bare where his sleeveless shirt ends. “I never could say no to either of you.”

“You did always let us get away with a lot of bullshit.” Riku’s voice is just as soft as he brings one hand up to run through Kairi’s hair. She leans into the touch and after a moment Riku shifts, turning to face her. Kairi lifts her arms up to wrap around his neck instead as her lips catch at his jaw. “Then again, we would bend over backwards to do anything for you, princess.”

“My heroes,” Kairi hums. Riku’s arms wrap around her waist and Kairi presses up onto her toes to press a kiss to Riku’s lips. Riku was always the tallest of the three of them, but after the year apart, he seemed to get much bigger. Not that Kairi really noticed until she started trying to kiss him, but then it became quite clear. It’s hard to kiss your boyfriend when he’s so much taller than you. Luckily, Riku always accommodates, either by leaning down or by picking her up.

This time, he does the latter. Kairi giggles as her feet leave the ground, Riku’s strong arms lifting her easily. He hums, a sound low in his chest, and Kairi feels it all the way down her spine.

Kissing Riku is like soaring through the sky, like being swept up in a wind that is both comforting and exciting all at once. It’s the breeze off the ocean, cool and familiar and hinting at something more, something strong and far away, calling to her. Kairi wants to get closer. She presses deeper into the feeling, wanting nothing more than to be picked up and whisked away by the strength in Riku’s kiss.

Riku has his hair pulled back in a bun to keep it out of his face, but Kairi finds herself tugging it out of the neat style so she can bury her hands in the silver strands instead. Sora keeps trying to cut Riku’s hair, and Kairi admits that the bangs need a trim, but there is something she loves so dearly about being able to play with it like this. Riku’s hair has always been so pretty after all.

At some point, Riku lowers them onto the bed, with Kairi in his lap. They kiss lazily, the combination of their long day working and the heat making them both sleepy. Kairi loses track of time, lost in the feeling of Riku’s arms around her waist and his lips against hers and their breath mingling together.

“You guys are the worst.”

All at once, Kairi comes back into the moment. She and Riku pull away with a gasp and she hears Sora sighing behind her. Riku’s face is red and Kairi is sure hers must be the same.

“Making out while I go get you ice cream? Really?” Sora whines. He’s obviously being dramatic to tease them and Kairi can feel a smile tugging at her lips as she looks back over her shoulder at him. “And here I thought I was the slacker in this family.”

“You still are,” Riku says. His voice is impressively level for the shade of red his face has become. “I at least was planning to continue working.”

“Oh, so you’re blaming me for this?” Kairi responds in mock offense. “Riku, that’s so mean! You’re the one who picked me up, I just wanted a quick kiss.” Sora snorts a laugh from the doorway and Riku smiles despite himself.

“Yeah right! You’re insatiable.” Riku nuzzles at Kairi’s neck and she breaks into giggles, pushing lightly at Riku’s shoulders as he holds her against him. “How many times did you drag one of us away from moving your stuff today just so you could get a ‘quick kiss’? You’re the biggest slacker here, Kairi.”

“She’s the princess, she gets to be a slacker,” Sora says, making his way through the boxes to plop down on the bed next to them. He’s holding three ice cream bars, one of which is already half eaten. “Now eat your dessert you two. It’s melting and I went all the way around the block to get these.”

They take their ice cream and for a moment the three of them sit in comfortable silence, eating. Kairi remains in Riku’s lap for the moment, arms draped over his shoulders as she gazes around her new space. One hand plays idly with Riku’s hair and Kairi thinks that she could get used to this.

Kairi is still worried about Sora and Riku leaving again. She knows their fight isn’t over, not yet. And she knows that she can learn to be part of it now, that she can help them in this battle for the worlds. At the same time, she’s worried about them being ripped away again and what might happen if they are. When they are. They’ve all gone through so much, changed so much, since that night on the beach, and she doesn’t know where this path they are on might lead.

Then she catches a glimpse of Sora licking the rest of the ice cream off his stick and lets out a breath. Her hand in Riku’s hair clings for a moment before releasing and Kairi smiles softly. It doesn’t matter where they might be going, because they’re going to go together. No matter how they may be separated, they will find each other again.

Kairi rests her head on Riku’s shoulder and reaches out with her free hand for Sora. Sora smiles at her and scoots closer, taking her hand in his. Riku tightens his grip around her waist and hooks his ankle with Sora’s.

It doesn’t matter how big the world is, or where they may end up. Their paths will always lead back to each other. To home.

Kairi is sure of it.


End file.
